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St Petersburg Times

By Julie Church, Times Correspondent

(PHOTO BY DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | TIMES) Drishti Pliske of Miami, left, and Kamila Hozlarova of Hudson serve spinach-artichoke soup to James Hughes of Oldsmar, Bonnie Starr of Largo and Betsie Hughes of Oldsmar, at lower right, during a 10th anniversary celebration dinner Sunday at Consciousness Blossoms, a vegetarian restaurant in Palm Harbor that shares a message of peace.

Nestled in a strip plaza off bustling Tampa Road is a very different type of restaurant. Not only does it feature fresh vegetarian cuisine, but its owner and staff are working to promote peace and inspire the community, one serving at a time. Read More…

The Green Cutting Board

Today we continue our survey of Tampa Bay area vegetarian friendly restaurants and businesses designed to help our winter visitors enjoy their stay on The Sun Coast. We set out early for breakfast at Consciousness Blossoms, a small brightly decorated bistro style restaurant serving breakfast and lunch. They specialize in organic, vegetarian and vegan cuisine and the menu is surprisingly varied with many fresh options and side dishes to choose from. Read More…

This was a very easy category to judge, what with Consciousness Blossoms being not only the best, but also the only vegetarian restaurant in the entire Bay area. Yes, while other restaurants and cafes have dropped the vegetarian banner and jumped on the bandwagon of the free-range chicken eating, Volvo-driving counterculture, Consciousness Blossoms quietly follows the path of peace and nonviolence in all things, especially eating. But don’t expect a namby-pamby menu of bean sprout shakes and weed salad. Consciousness Blossoms serves bountiful food with real flavor, from crisp, Belgian waffles with real maple syrup to three-egg omelets with European-style home fries at breakfast, and bold, sandwiches like the vegetarian reuben or BLT (made with surprisingly satisfying soy bacon) for lunch. Heartier appetites will appreciate the meaty Neatloaf, a mix of proteins, from nuts to soy, baked in a loaf and topped with barbecue sauce. Read More…

St Petersburg Times

Owner Tilvila Hurwit says she wants her vegetarian restaurant in Palm Harbor to help customers achieve an inner peace.

For Tilvila Hurwit, the way to a person’s soul is through the stomach.
After all, just because you are at the top of the food chain, it doesn’t mean you should eat something that once had a face.

Hurwit, the owner of Consciousness-Blossoms, almost certainly Palm Harbor’s only all-vegetarian restaurant run by devotees of spiritualist and musician Sri Chinmoy, believes she is feeding the soul and providing inner peace.

Animal meat promotes aggression and restlessness, Hurwit said. Natural grains, vegetables and similar blood-free fare apparently calm people and help them play well with others.
That is why she offers dishes such as neatloaf — a concoction of brown rice, grains, tofu, ricotta cheese, eggs, onions and spices, topped with barbecue sauce — not meatloaf.
Hurwit does serve eggs at breakfast. Eggs are okay because they were never alive outside the shell.